Trick or Treat
by pehpig
Summary: I wrote this one shot as a giveaway for the Bleach Asylum IchiRuki fan club for Halloween 2009.  I made a lot of friends there and like to hang out reading their posts a lot.  This story is of course IchiRuki and the theme given was "Trick or Treat."


For the Halloween Giveaway at Bleach Asylum, 2009

They rang the doorbell. The door was opened by a small dark haired woman in a pink princess costume.

"Trick or treat!" they cried.

"Oh look at you! You're all so adorable!" Rukia said. "You're a princess? I'm a princess too! Here's some candy for you. Oh, you're a scary ghost. Here's some for you. Oh my! A bunny! So cute! I have to hug you."

She wrapped her arms around the surprised child.

"Ichigo! Bring the camera. You have to see this."

"I'm busy." He said.

"Ichigo." She groaned. "Here, here's some candy for you. Goodnight. Happy Halloween!"

She waved at the children as they left. She closed the door and stomped back in the house. Ichigo was sitting on the couch flipping through channels.

"Ichigo, what's the matter with you? You're not even in your costume. It's Halloween, the night when the walls between the worlds are thin! Magic and mystery are in the air. You're supposed to be having fun. "

Ichigo's cynical face contrasted sharply with Rukia's wide eyed look of wonder.

"The walls look as thick as ever to me." He said. "And I don't see dressing up in a stupid costume as fun."

"You're going to Keigo's party like that?" She gestured to indicate his jeans and t-shirt. "Your costume is supposed to match mine. How can princess arrive unaccompanied by her prince?"

"I'm not a prince, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo and that should be good enough for anyone." He replied. "If that's not enough for you, you can go by yourself."

He jumped as a bowl of candy landed with some force in his lap.

"Fine tough guy. If you're so worried about your precious image, I WILL go by myself. You stay here and take care of the trick or treaters. I'm going to the party now."

With a huff and a flounce, she gathered up her billowing skirts and stormed out the door.

"Wait, Rukia." Ichigo put the bowl down and started to follow her. "Don't just leave me here! Rukia!"

It was too late. She was gone.

* * *

Kuroski Isshin was a man satisfied with his world.

"Look at this haul! I think I got more than either of you."

Dressed in a pirate costume, he accompanied his two daughters back to the house.

Yuzu, dressed as a cat, glanced sideways at her silly father.

"Well you did cry if they didn't give you anything."

Karin, dressed as a baseball player, shot him a disgusted look.

"You're not supposed to be trick or treating too, idiot. You're too old!"

"Nonsense!" He bellowed, "You're only as old as you think you are."

He held open the front door to let his daughters in.

"Ichigo! Rukia! We're home!"

"Rukia's not here." His sulking son said. He was on the couch holding the bowl of candy.

"Not home?" His father asked. "Where did she go? And why are you not in your costume?"

"She got mad at me for some reason and went to the party without me. And I'm not in my costume because it's stupid." He replied.

His father was appalled. "You let me dear third daughter go to the party by herself? Ichigo, that's terrible. Put on your costume and go to the party immediately!"

"Yes Ichigo." Yuzu said. "Don't let Rukia be alone on Halloween."

"I don't want to put on my costume and you know what? I don't think I want to go to that stupid party either." Ichigo put the bowl down on the couch and started to go to his room.

"Ichigo" His father was using an unusual tone. He was being perfectly serious.

"I don't care what you think of costumes or Halloween. Rukia wanted to enjoy this holiday, and it's our responsibility as a family to help her do that. I would have thought even you would want to help make her holiday happy."

"Yeah, Ichi-ni." Karin said. "Stop being such a butt-head and suit up."

Ichigo looked around the room. Everyone, even Yuzu, looked at him with reproachful eyes.

"All right." He said. "I'll put on the stupid costume and go to Keigo's party."

He went up to his room to change.

"I feel like an idiot." He grumbled.

* * *

Isshin had rented matching costumes for Rukia and Ichigo to wear to the party. His costume was a prince in a blue frock coat, knee breeches, buckled shoes, and to top it off, a frilly white shirt with lacey cuffs and a cravat. He walked down the street feeling his street cred bleeding out with every step. As the moon rose in the nighttime sky, he stopped on a deserted side street to look at his reflection in a shop window.

"I look like a total jerk." He said. "There's no way I can let my friends see this. I'm going back."

"It's too late to go back, King." A voice said.

Around the edge of his vision, everything started to rapidly go dark. His vision swam as the darkness closed in. The next thing he knew, he was in the strange sideways world of his own soul. Sitting on a flagpole across from him, the nameless hollow that shared space in his head sat with a mocking grin on his face.

"Happy Halloween, King. My, don't we look spiffy tonight."

Ichigo could see the hollow was dressed the same as him, only all in white. The hollow hopped off the pole and began to circle around him.

"So we're going to a party tonight?" he asked

"We are not." Ichigo replied "You sure as hell aren't welcome. I don't think I want to go either."

The hollow's grin never wavered. "Aww, not good for your image to be seen without a stick up your ass? Would it kill you to relax once in a while?"

"Don't you worry about it." Ichigo said. "Let's just finish up whatever we're doing here so I can go home."

"Ho, ho, ho. You're not going home anytime soon King." The hollow said with a sneer. "You should have been listening to that shinigami girl. Tonight's the night when the walls between worlds, your world and mine, grow thin. You should have been more careful. Taken some precautions. Now, your body is mine."

Ichigo leapt at the white apparition with murder in his eyes. "What do you mean, my body is yours?"

The hollow easily kept away, leaping from building to building.

"Tonight, from the rise of the moon till the stroke of midnight, this body is mine. I think I'm going to go to that party of yours and enjoy myself."

"You bastard!" Ichigo yelled. "You stay away from there! Don't you dare harm my friends! Don't you go near…"

"Rukia. Isn't that what you were going to say King?" The hollow smirked. "I'm afraid my plans are exactly the opposite. I'm going to go to that party for the express purpose of seeing your 'precious nakama'. I'm going to show her a few tricks. Then she's going to be my treat! Ah ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Roaring with anger, Ichigo gather himself up for one final spring. Before he could reach him, the hollow was gone. He was trapped. He screamed out in frustration and fear.

"RUKIA!"

* * *

The punks walking down the alley spotted likely target for the night.

"Hey, Ooshima." One of them said. "Isn't it that one guy that's always copying your look?"

The leader of the gang looked over to see a red-headed Ichigo staring at his reflection in a shop window. "Yeah, that's him." He said. "I told him to dye his hair, or he'd get it from me."

He pulled out his trusty brass knuckles. Sneaking up behind Ichigo, he prepared a strike just above the kidneys. As he approached, something strange seemed to happen. He could have sworn Ichigo's hair turned from red to white. Oh well, it wasn't important. He launched his fist at the unsuspecting boy's back confident he would fall gasping in pain to the ground. Instead, he felt a spinning kick upside his head!

As he lay on the ground trying to get his bearing, an unnervingly white face with yellow eyes loomed over him.

"Oh, hello." It said. "Were you looking for the King? I'm afraid he's busy right now."

Ooshima didn't scare easy, but this? This guy didn't even seem human.

"Who are you?" He managed to groan.

The white face gave a wide grin. "Who am I? Oh I don't have a name. It doesn't matter though. I'll still play with you! Ah ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

The rest of the gang finally sprang into action.

"That guy just kicked the boss! Get him." One shouted.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" The white faced demon laughed. "Come on! There's plenty for everybody!"

He leaped into the air in a flying kick. "Trick or treat!"

* * *

The cab pulled up the curb and the hollow got out.

"Keep the change." He said as he tossed a roll of yen to the man.

Those punks had been loaded. He had managed to finish them off without getting so much as drop of blood on his costume. One even had an excellent bottle of peppermint schnapps on him. He upended the bottle and drained the last bit down his throat. He relished the sensations it provoked. The burning on the way down, the warmth that spread outward from his stomach, the dizziness in his head. Even the cool feel of the glass against his lips was so much more than he ever felt in the boring sideways world. Yes, he was really beginning to feel alive. And it was about to get better. He threw the bottle down on the sidewalk and laughed as it shattered. He'd always wanted to do that. Karakura was too tidy. He went up stairs to Keigo's apartment and leaned on the doorbell. He didn't stop pressing the button.

"O.K., O.K., I'm coming."

Dressed as a chicken, Keigo opened the door. "Alright buddy, what's the big idea? Ichigo? Is that you?"

"Sure." The hollow said. "Why not?"

Keigo opened the door all the way. "Hey, come on in man! What's that smell? Kinda like peppermint? Say, what are you supposed to be anyway?"

The hollow ignored his questions.

"Where's the food around here?" he asked.

"Right over there against the back wall. Help yourself." Keigo replied "Glad you could make it man. Have fun."

The hollow didn't even look back as he approached the food table. He began to grab handfuls of anything that looked good, shoving it into his mouth. He had to be careful not to stain the costume, oh no, he had plans for that later, but other than that, he wanted to taste all life had to offer. Everything tasted so good. From salty to sweet, savory to bland, it was all new and all so fulfilling. Sooner than he would have thought possible, he was actually full. That was OK though. There was still so much to see and hear and taste and smell. Looking over a shapely girl dressed as a mummy he decided to add the sensation of touch to the menu as well.

He ran an appreciative hand down her wonderfully sculpted bottom. Leaping into the air and twisting like a cat, the girl fired an overhand right at him that stopped just short of the hollow's nose.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki said. "Is that you?"

She was absolutely stunned. This wasn't like Ichigo. Not even as a joke. And did she smell peppermint? She lowered her fist and substituted a pointing finger.

"Hey, what's the big idea? Who gave you permission to get fresh with me?"

The hollow leaned forward and lightly kissed he fingertip. "This is a party, babe. Lighten up"

Tatsuki's jaw dropped. What had gotten in to him? Before she could respond, he turned and walked away. He was going to get a piece of her mind later!

* * *

The hollow strode confidently through the press of bodies seeking his prey. Finally, he saw her, a splash of pink in the crowd. She was chatting with a busty redhead and a skinny guy dressed like a vampire. Rukia was listening to the girl while sipping on punch.

"It was so funny when I ran into Ishida-san. Here I am as a lady vampire, and he's here as a man vampire. Isn't that a funny coincidence?"

The hollow spotted a change to break in.

"With those damned movies out lately, I'm surprised everybody's not a damned vampire"

They all turned to face him.

"Hello Kuroski-kun, or should I say, 'Good Eve-uh-ning', Bwa, ha, ha"

Inoue's poor Transylvanian accent impressed him no more than her fake fangs did. He had eyes for only one target.

"Good evening, Rukia. Sorry I'm late."

"I thought you said you weren't coming?" She said.

Besides his appearance with white hair, and skin, and weird yellow eyes, there was something very wrong with Ichigo. She sniffed. There was a strong scent of peppermint and…alcohol? Ichigo had been drinking?

"Surprise." He said. "I got you pretty good with my 'I don't wanna go' act. Besides, it took me a while to put on all this makeup."

"That's impressive Kurosaki-kun." Inoue said. "Let me see."

She reached out to touch his face. He intercepted her hand and flung it aside.

"Please don't. I don't want it to get smudged."

"Why put on the make up at all?" Ruki asked. "You're supposed to be a prince."

She couldn't shake the feeling something was off about him.

"What's better on Halloween than being a prince of hell?" he replied.

"Kurosaki." Ishida said. "There's something I need to discuss with you in private."

The hollow helped himself to some punch.

"I don't feel the need to discuss anything with you, private or otherwise."

"Nonetheless, I must insist." Ishida countered.

The hollow looked at him with slitted eyes. So this guy wasn't going to give up huh? OK, he'd deal with him and get back in plenty of time.

"Sure Ishida." He said. "Lead on."

The bedroom in the back was being used as a coatroom. Ishida gestured for his 'friend' to go in first. Obliging him, the hollow entered only to feel Ishida slap something against his back. Cords shot out from the device, pinning his arms to his sides and trying up until he could hardly wiggle.

"I hope you enjoy my little artifact." Ishida said. "It's something my Quincy ancestors made up years ago for capturing hollows we wished to interrogate. On a night like tonight, it seemed appropriate to bring it along."

The hollow growled as he struggled against his bonds.

"You better get this damned thing off me Quincy before I…"

"Before you'll what? There's nothing you can do. Those cords can hold even the strongest hollow."

He bent down to look the creature in the eye.

"Now. Why don't you tell me where the real Ichigo is?"

"You're looking at him." The hollow replied.

Ishida pulled a silver cylinder out of his pocket.

"Don't toy with me." He said. "A few drops of this will soon make you wish you hadn't."

"I ain't messing with you." The hollow said. "This is the real Ichigo. I'm just borrowing his body for a while. So do you know what that means?"

"That you have to be exorcised?" Ishida said.

"No." The hollow replied. "It means that cords that can hold even the strongest hollow, CAN'T HOLD HIM! Ah, ha, ha, ha!"

Cackling with glee, reiatsu glowed around his arms as he broke free of the cords and sprang upon the surprised Quincy. Ishida never heard of a shinigami doing such a thing without first going into spirit form. The holllow's hands gripped his arms painfully, preventing him from using his bow. It grinned in his face.

"Trick or Treat!"

* * *

Inoue looked puzzled as the hollow returned to the party.

"Where is Ishida-san?" She asked.

"He got tied up in some hollow business." He replied.

He had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. He had tied the Quincy up with his own artifact and left him in the closet. Nobody would find him for hours.

"Ichigo, why didn't you go to help him" Rukia asked.

"Wait." The hollow said. "Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she said. "The music?"

"Yeah" he replied. "Feel it! Isn't it great? C'mon Rukia! Let's dance!"

Grabbing her by the wrist, he dragged her on to the dance floor. It was so damn good to be alive.

* * *

Hollows were creatures of instinct and desire. All through the night, he fought hard to supress his instinct to get closer to what he desired. At the same time, he savored every second of his freedom. Long denied the everyday sensations we take for granted, everything yielded a cornucopia of new experiences that satisfied on many levels. He danced, he sang Kareoke, he told jokes, he did everything he knew Ichigo would never do, pouring on the charm. Everyone enjoyed the new Ichigo who was not sullen and withdrawn. The men were envious and the ladies tried to catch his eye. It didn't make a difference. The whole night, he never lost sight of his target. Rukia. Everything he did was designed to please her and put her fears at ease. By the time she realized who he really was, it would be too late.

"Thanks for coming everyone!" Keigo said. "Take care and get home safely."

"I've got that department covered." The hollow said.

"Thank you for having us over. I had a lovely time." Rukia said.

As they walked down the street, it was all he could do not to drag her off into an alley right there and then. Everything about her, from the breeze ruffling her hair, to her delicate face, to the way she smelled was like the ringing of a dinner bell to him. He fought for control, something hollows are very bad at, in order to stick to the plan.

"You were really something Ichigo." Rukia said. "I've never seen you so uninhibited. It's like you were a different person altogether."

Oh man, how would that dope react? Probably with sarcasm.

"Gee, thanks." He said.

"No, seriously." She replied. "You need to relax like this more often."

He thought now was a good idea to spring his plan into action.

"Hey Rukia." He said. "Speaking of relaxing, let's cut through the park."

'I don't know Ichigo." She said. "I don't want to mess up my dress."

"It'll be fine." He said. "Besides, I have something I want to show you."

He was going to have to hurry this along. It was already eleven o'clock.

"Well, if you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure. Right this way."

Everything was going according to plan. With his intimate knowledge of Rukia's background, he should be able to say and do all the right things. She'd been totally fooled. The park was a perfect staging area, full of secluded spots hidden by bushes and trees and total abandoned at this hour.

"Here we are." He said as they came to the edge of a pond.

"Here?" she said. "What's so special about here?"

"It's a full moon." He replied. "Don't you think it's wonderful it is to see the night sky? No clouds, the stars are twinkling and the moon is shining down on everything, bathing everything in silver."

He may have been laying it on thick, but he was sincere. He really did appreciate the beauty of the night he never got to see in person.

"Why Ichigo, you're being very romantic." She said.

"Not at all." He said. "If I was being romantic, I'd say that the moon pales in comparison to you."

She frowned, "OK Ichigo, knock it off. I know you have been drinking earlier."

"No, I mean it. The moon is bright and beautiful, but as far as I'm concerned, it exists just to be reflected in your eyes." He did is best at a soft smile.

Rukia cast down here eyes and blushed. "Stop that. This really isn't like you."

"Why isn't it?" he asked. "Have I really been blind all this time?" He stepped closer to her.

"Ichigo, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Shhhh. I just want to try something."

He leaned in. She began to draw away.

"Ichigo, stop. You're scaring me."

"Hey, I'm a little scared too." He had to fight the urge to cackle. "But if you don't want this, tell me and I'll stop. Trust me."

He leaned in some more.

Something had been bothering Rukia about Ichigo all day. He wasn't acting like himself. The weird makeup and the unusually social activities was not something he normally did. What he was trying to do now as definitely not normal. On the other hand, maybe he was right. Maybe tonight was different and he had been working up the nerve to do these things. What should she do?

When the hollow saw her close her eyes and tilt her head, he capered inside with glee. Trick or treat indeed. She wasn't going to like this trick! She was a sitting duck now. He would be on her before she knew it. He would take her in every way possible in this secluded spot, then devour her soul. He could just picture Ichigo finding her cold, lifeless body. Wouldn't that be a tasty dish to set before the king, ha, ha! He raised his hands to grab her…and stopped.

He was a creature of instinct and desire.

More importantly, he was the embodiment of Ichigos instinct.

There were a lot of ugly, destructive instincts Ichigo kept in check that the hollow had no trouble letting out.

Unfortunately for him, the strongest, most powerful instinct Ichigo had… was to protect this woman.

Looking at her in the moonlight with her eyes closed, trusting and vulnerable, a feeling formed in his stomach. It rose up in his chest, building and building , threatening to overpower him. It grew so strong, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Rukia's eyes fluttered open. "Ichigo, are you OK?"

"I…I gotta go." He turned around and vomited on the ground.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried.

The hollow didn't reply. Instead he ran as fast as he could.

Great. Just great. Now he couldn't even think of harming the little shinigami without feeling nauseous.

"Damn you king." He said. "Damn you and your damned instincts."

* * *

"Ichigo!" Rukia had left her Chappy dispenser at home. The billowing skirts on her costume looked great but they really slowed her down as she ran after a person she was no longer sure was Ichigo. He soon outdistanced her and was out of sight. She tried concentrating on his reiatsu to keep following him, but it was fluctuating wildly. She finally caught up to him hunched over on a side street just as the clock at town hall struck midnight. Before her very eyes, his hair turned from white to its usual orange-red.

"Ichigo?" She said.

When he looked up, his eyes were their usual amber color.

"Rukia? Rukia, did he hurt you?"

He rushed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you all right? I swear, if he did anything, I'll…I'll."

He didn't know what to say after that. After all, the hollow was a part of him. He couldn't live with himself if he had caused her harm.

"I'm fine Ichigo." She removed his hands "Nothing bad happened."

"Nothing bad!" He said. "That THING took over my body. It did lord knows what while I was trapped inside. It could have destroyed you all!"

So her suspicions were right. It hadn't been Ichigo all night.

"Ichigo, if that's as bad as your evil side gets, then you need to get out more."

She marched right up and took his hand. He tried to flinch away.

"Stop that." She said. "I'm not afraid of any part of you, Ichigo. Let's go home."

Pulling on his arm, she led him back towards the Kurosaki clinic. She had meant what she said. Even distilled down to his darkest essence, he was still Ichigo.

Ichigo dug in his heels.

"Rukia, don't just act like everything's alright. I lost control tonight. I'm a danger to everyone around me. You shouldn't be here."

"Nonsense." She said. "I couldn't be anywhere else. I know that somehow, if you needed to, you will stop him from hurting those you care about. Now let's drop this and go home"

They walked down the deserted streets past the now empty park.

"Ichigo." Rukia said. "Take a look at that."

She pointed to the full moon hanging high in the sky.

"Yeah, what about it?" He asked

She got up on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.

"Trick or treat." She said. She walked on ahead of him.

What was that for? He wondered as he rubbed his cheek. Bemused, he followed her home. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help thinking he'd forgotten something. Something about Ishida? No, that didn't make sense. He jogged to catch up to her, a prince accompanying his princess home.

End


End file.
